Busy Morning…Still Waiting

Hey Friends…

Sorry for the delay in getting this posted.  I always start writing the blog then get pulled into something else and never make it back to finish it!

Anyway…here’s Ike as of 2pm…

This Hurricane has done a number on The Turks/Caicos as well as Great Inagua in the last 24 hours.

Now it’s moving towards Cuba for a likely landfall tonight.  This is a potent category 4 storm with winds around 135mph.  We don’t see many of those through the season.  It IS remarkable.

That said, it’s not likely that Ike will maintain that intensity much more than the next 18-24 hour period.

The official forecast from the National Hurricane Center keeps Ike over Cuba for a long period of time…running the system up the spine of the island nation.  That will pretty much zap the intensity of the storm, dampening the potential impacts on South Florida and the Keys.  But at this point, it’s a tough call as any slight shift in the track of Ike could have big impacts on the storm’s intensity and therefore the weather for us in South Florida.

A Hurricane Watch is in effect for the Keys for the uncertainty that lies ahead with Ike.  Please don’t take your eyes off this system though the track is trending south and west of the area.  We are going to see some foul weather – it’s just a matter of Ike’s track and intensity that will determine just HOW STRONG and HOW LONG the winds and rains will be in our forecast.

Why am I not laying out a full forecast?  I understand it’s frustrating to NOT have it all (a local forecast) put out there for you…but the reality is, even a few days away, Hurricane Ike remains a fluid situation and one to monitor. 
Check back in soon… Master bloggers John & Paul are on their way in.

-Ryan